It wasn’t also easy for the former ninth-round pick but after 451 NHL games, former Islander, Ranger, and Devil P.A. Parenteau is calling it a career.
P.A. Parenteau, now 35 years old, started off the 2017-18 campaign on a professional tryout with the Detroit Red Wings but did not make the team so he spent this past season in the KHL with the Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.
All the best to PA Parenteau, who is calling it a career. Scratched and clawed his way to becoming a full-time #NHL player at the age of 27.
— Brian Compton (@BComptonNHL) June 14, 2018
Parenteau made his NHL debut on February 7, 2007 with the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks were one of eight teams he would eventually play for in the NHL, not including the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (now the Anaheim Ducks) who drafted him 264th overall in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.
It wasn’t until the 2010-11 season when Parenteau became a regular, leaving the New York Rangers to a sign a one-year deal with the New York Islanders.
Prior to signing with the Islanders, Parenteau had played in only 27 NHL games but 450 AHL games. 22 games were with the Rangers, where he would score three goals and eight points but Parenteau’s three seasons in the Rangers’ organization was spent mostly with their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.
However, Parenteau had a strong training camp and earned a spot on the Isles’ top line with John Tavares and Matt Moulson where he would spend almost the entire season.
Parenteau finished the season with 20 goals and 53 points and signed a one-year contract extension in February to stay on Long Island for the 2011-12 season.
The 2011-12 campaign wound up being Parenteau’s best NHL season as he scored 18 goals and 67 points. His two seasons with the Islanders helped him cash in big as he signed a four-year deal worth $16 million with the Colorado Avalanche.
In his first season with Colorado, Parenteau would see his success from Long Island continue. In the lockout-shortened season, Parenteau scored 18 goals and 43 points in 48 games.
After being limited to just 58 games and 33 points the season afterwards, Parenteau was traded to the Montreal Canadiens.
The final year of Parenteau’s deal was bought out by Montreal following another injury-limited season that saw him score 22 points in 56 games.
That summer he signed a one-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs where he would bounce back, staying healthy en route to a 20-goal, 41-point season. Parenteau was linked to the Islanders during the Trade Deadline but he stayed put and finished the season in Toronto.
However, on the second day of 2016 Free Agency, Parenteau signed a one-year deal to return to the Islanders. Expected to play on the first line with Tavares and fellow free agent signing Andrew Ladd, Parenteau was shockingly waived by the Islanders days before the season started.
Parenteau was claimed off waivers by the New Jersey Devils, allowing him to complete the Tri-State area hat trick (playing for the Islanders, Rangers, and Devils). In 59 games with the Devils, he would score 13 goals and 27 points before being traded to the Nashville Predators at the 2017 Trade Deadline for a sixth-round pick.
Parenteau played eight regular-season games and five playoff games for the Western Conference Champions, picking up just one assist.
With the news of his retirement, Parenteau officially ends his NHL career with 419 games, 114 goals, and 296 points. Not too bad for a ninth-round pick. Congratulations P.A. on a great career!
